Event Review: OC Foodie Fest 2011

Written and photos by:  Kirby Quinto
Over the weekend a small group of us local import car owners were invited to a sure fire hit in Orange County called the OC Foodie Fest.  This event was the rally of the best of the best food trucks in Southern California.  The Foodie Fest is hyped up to be an astronomical huge hit of a show per radio announcements.  With live bands, hundreds of So Cal’s finest food trucks, beer gardens, giveaways, and a mass number of people to sell out the event fast.  This year’s event was also said to pass up the attendance from last year’s Foodie Fest that was located at the smaller venue of Honda Center.  

The event started out way too early for me.  I was up till 1 am to wake up at 5.  While my car is currently out of commission, I tagged along with my good friends and team mates Tim Baxter and Ian Tillery.  The event roll in began at 7 am.  There, we met with our event organizer and planner Jason Eshelman.  When we got there the event area was massive!  The Food Fest staff then guided us to our area under the “Big A”.  As the morning passed, our friends started showing up to display their amazing builds.  Man, did these guys turn heads rolling in!  

The event started in 2 different time periods.  The first wave of guests to the event were the VIP guests.  These people had the first crack at the food trucks, received extra swag, and other free amenities.  The 2nd group was the general public and their entry time was 12 noon.  During that time, there was a huge and I mean HUGE line.  The event looked really promising and appeared that the OC Foodie Fest was going to live up to its name and pass up last year’s event at Honda Center.  

Now as the day progressed and the Southern California heat wave started to make its appearance, shade seemed to be the area most sought after other than Dos Chinos and The Boba Truck.  Sure the event area was massive, but other than the VIP tent area that was closed off, the only shade available to everyone was under the Big A where our show cars were being displayed.  At first we loved it because everyone was there cooling off under the misters, but then more and more people came to our little sanctuary.  This is where the event takes the turn that hurt them really bad.  As soon as the massive line at the gate all got in, that was pretty much it.  Once people got in, they went about their way to get to the truck of their choice.  With the heat against the event, people left after they ate.  Not taking into consideration of the local bands that made an appearance or the independent boutiques that joined in.  Not being able to bring in water during a rare So Cal heat wave kind of bothered me.  Do they understand the liability that comes with people w/ heat exhaustion?  I guess not.  Trying to capitalize on not being able to bring a bottled water only to charge $3 per 16 ounce bottle was outrageous.  A couple of our buddies wanted to join us there later in the day, but to find out Angel Stadium was charging their parking fee.  So now you have parking to pay for at the amount of $10, then your entrance to Foodie Fest, and then pay for your food and drinks inside.  That would make me turn around and just catch these guys on their Twitter or at a free rally.  


The main highlight our friends enjoyed was the compliments we received from the guests of the OC Foodie Fest on our import cars.  It is still very rare to get complimented by the average Joe or Jane, so we really appreciate all the props on the hard work on our custom builds.  You guys that all stopped by and took the time to view our display made our day well worth it and we hope you guys will take the time soon to join us on any future import car events.  We are not all racers like the movies present.

My personal favorite that day is of course Dos Chinos.  I also tried the OC Food Truck.  Their Carnivore Fries are to die for!  I actually had 2 servings of that and yes my heart stopped twice.  LOL.  Next Tim, Ian, and myself raided The Boba Truck.  These kids were quicker than the ones at an actual boba shop.  They had an amazing mocha milk tea.  Good job guys.  All in all the event to me and my group was okay.  It did not live up to its hype and more than a few guests left in disappointment.  Hopefully if there is 1 next year they will take into account of the mishaps of the last OC Foodie Fest at Angel Stadium.  

Thank you to  Nilo Miranda, Bert and Noel Barnum, Jason, Ian, Omar, Darwin, Thomas, George, and Casey  for joining me for the day of mayhem, drama, and a hell of a lot of laughs.   Most of all thank you Jason Eshelman and his wife Debbie for allowing us to join in on the festivities.  Hope to see you all real soon.  


BTW, at the end of the day majority of us became sponsored by Aquafina, Pepsi, and Jarritos.  *wink

*more pics to be added 8/30/11

A DJ's Creation

Written By: Kirby Quinto
Photos by: Wilson Leo Bor & Kirby Quinto

Scion owners have always stood by the saying United By Individuality.  A lot of people say that Scion vehicles are all the same.  The truth is, all Scion vehicles can be very different with a few cosmetic add on parts, a twist of the owner’s personality and creativity.  The term of Individuality goes with our first vehicle feature on Alpha SQUAD Review. 

I would like to introduce you to George “DJ Goz” Ortiz. 

I have known George for a couple of years now since his first appearance with a local Scion car club in the San Fernando Valley Region.  What I never knew about George other than the family man and car fanatic is that he spins on the 1’s and 2’s blasting those old Cindy Lauper jams.  Enough of the DJ’ing for now since we are here to feature his redesigned 2008 Scion xB called “Stealth xB”.  A few months ago George and I met up in Pasadena and he was chopping up all this and that on redesigning his xB.  I was like, “for real s dude?”  Sure enough a few months fly by and this was created.  

George wanted to do a complete overhaul of his car.  To correct those areas that he should have touched to begin with.  First things first was the outside.  He wanted to give some new color to his then black xB.  A little color, but also keep that aggressive look.  With a lot of thinking and decisions to make, George passed his car down to A&A Auto Works in Van Nuys.  There he decided on a gunmetal color from an Audi R8.   That color selection turned out to be amazing.  In different angles, the car has a blue-ish sparkle to it and enhances the body.  George went more simple than over the top with the redo.  With the gunmetal color in mind an AIT Racing OEM style carbon fiber hood was added, along with a Bomex carbon fiber front lip.  With the sideskirts and rear lip George wanted to keep it simple.  So OEM was the best decision.  The Scion RS 7.0 “DAMD” kit, flowed perfectly.  The final touch to compliment the exterior was AIT Racing’s carbon fiber spoiler.  Now by looking at the photos below makes you wanna see the rest of the car right?  

Now with the body complete, there was another important area that George wanted to clean up.  That was strap up new shoes and ditch the static suspension.  In my opinion that was a great decision.  The new wheels are XXR 521 20x8.5 all around and wrapped with some “serious” tires.  Hahaha.  Nexen 700 Series 225x35x20.  The wheel color was very important because it had to match right so he went with the Matte Black color.  Now the issue with the static suspension.  To cover the tire fender gap, he had to do something really drastic.  George hit up the people over at Air Lift to drop his ride like its hot.  The Easy Street Kit works out perfect.  

With building a showcar majority has to be redone, but properly.  With the interior of the xB, George touched it up enough that you can see detail into what’s been added and touched up.  From the Louis Vuitton wrap (ITS REAL LOUIS PEOPLE!), immediately seeing the Sparco Chrono seats, and the minor aesthetics that have been replaced complimented the interior well.  Like the NRG wheel assembly and Momo steering wheel to match his seats made a great touch.

To give the xB the juice it needs to accelerate well.  A TRD CAI (cold air intake) has been added to give it that instant reaction.  To give his car bit more rumble George added a TRD axleback exhaust.  Now for some stopping power R1 Concepts drilled and slotted rotors and TRD brake pads to give that stopping power.  With aftermarket modifications and living in Southern California or well California in general, these are very important to have because THEY ARE LEGAL MODIFICATIONS!  Is that going to stop him, most likely not.    

As stated earlier, George does DJ’ing on his freetime.  Being a DJ you would expect the man to have beats right?  Well he does.  Cracking in the trunk are (3) JL Audio W-0 subs and (1) JL Audio 500 and (1) JL Audio 1000 watt amps.  Who the hell needs 3 subwoofers right?  Well DJ Goz does I guess.   Along with the JL pieces, George added (2) 7 inch monitors by Pyle Audio.  I don’t exactly know if they are modifications or if it’s a tool to keep the kids quiet at long drives.  
When he’s not out terrorizing the San Fernando Valley with the HFD Crew or out and about with the family.  You can find him spinning at your local car show, night club, house partys, etc.  At the next Scion event or any car show drop by George’s Scion xB.  He would love to meet you.  Check out his car, meet the family, and do what Scion people love to do.  Meet, greet and have a great time everytime.  I hope you all enjoyed our first feature.  

Vehicle Specification Sheet:

Exterior Features: Audi R8 Gunmetal color, AIT Racing OEM CF hood, AIT Racing DL series CF spoiler wing, Bomex CF front lip, RS 7.0 “DAMD” Side skirt and Rear lip kit

Interior Features: MOMO Millennium Sport steering wheel, Sparco Chrono Road racing seats, Wedge Engineering sliders and brackets, Louis Vuitton interior wrap, NRG short hub, NRG Quick release 2.0 black w/gunmetal ring

Power Mods: TRD CAI intake, TRD RS 7.0 Chrome mid exhaust

Audio: Pioneer premium stereo, two 7” TV monitor visors, 3 10”JL audio W-0 subs, JL audio 500 and 1000 watt amp

Wheels/Tires: 20” XXR 521 8.5  w/+32 offset, NEXEN 700 Series 225/35/20

Suspension: AIRLIFT easy street kit w/4 paddle switch, MCC front strut bar, TRD rear sway bar

Brakes: R1 concept drilled/slotted rotors, TRD performance brake pads,

Other Mods: Anzo HALO headlights, HIDXTRA 6K, LEDMOD puddle lights, Spider LED tail lights

Anything special we need to know about yourself and/or your ride?  "Im a local DJ hoping to merge my skills and car together one day."  Check it out! DJ Goz:  http://www.facebook.com/pages/Dj-Goz/219208078129388

Favorite quote in relation to your vehicle? “It’s about the friends you make, Not the wins you take."- DJ Goz

Thank you: My wife Jessica for the love and support, All the homies of Nor cal and So cal HFD fam!, House Whores, www.MIXICANS.com, Walter & Eric of Geisha Events, Jeff Maldonado @ 742 Marketing, A&A autoworks, SmartWax, Elite AutoSports, JDM Sport, Chris Sabando @ XXR Wheels, Steve of Scion Pro, My boi YC Young Clipp check him out on YouTube!

Links:
Eric and Walter at Geisha Events:  http://www.facebook.com/#!/geishaevents 
A&A Auto Works: http://www.a&aautoworks.com/
Hellafassdooo:  http://www.helafassdooo.com 
XXR Wheels: http://www.xxrwheels.com/
JDM Sport:  http://www.jdmsport.com/
Smartwax: http://www.smartwax.com/
Elite Autosport:  http://www.elite-autosports.com/
Scionpro:  http://www.scionpro.com/

Vehicle Sponsorship 101

With the SEMA (Specialty Equipment Market Association) and CES (Consumer Electronics Show) events upon us, people have been approaching me on how to create a sponsorship proposal for their vehicle.  It's fairly simple.  With the right choice of words, key features included, and creativity you can get your vehicle sponsored and hopefully grace the floors of any of the 2 main events. 

First thing is you need to understand is how far are you willing to take the build of your car and if you are ready to see the buisness side of the aftermarket community.  Be prepared.  There's 2 types of vehicle builders out there today in my eyes.  One is the person who is just out for free stuff and just BS their way to obtain free parts with no dedication or benefit to the companies they present to.  Truthfully thost types of people never last that long and an eyesore to the building community.  The other type of person is the one ready to dedicate themselves to the company they presented to.  Help carry by promoting their product and sticking their necks out no matter what for their sponsor.  These people also maintain a continuous progress on their vehicle and do it in a positive manner. 

So if you are ready to proceed, here's the basic guidelines of writing a sponsorship.

1.  Introduction:  Introduce yourself with a brief description.  Don't dry it out already.  Sponsors do not need to know your wife's name, kids, parents, and your dog's name.  Basic meaning your name, car you drive, everyday job, and hobbies.
2.  Body:  This is your sales pitch.  Talk about your car.  Why your car fits with their company product(s), what benefits can you offer them, why your car build is different from the rest, and make sure you explain why your car is superior to the rest.  Be Creative and presentation points count
3.  Exit:  Bow out in a sincere manner.  let them know again why your car is the perfect fit for their company product(s). 



Below are other items you need to submit for your proposal to the company other than the initial write up:


1.  Photos:  All photos submitted must be clean and clear.  Please do not send in over the top photography skills.  IE: black and white, night pictures, off center, over exposed colors, and chicks everywhere are not needed.  You are in the market to present you and your car.  Not your photo skills or old photos from HIN or other car shows. 
*  All angles is a must.
*  Make it nice
*  Present photos of how your car sits now
*  Please clean your car.  <------  I've seen people send in dirty car pics and trust me those just get trashed.

2.  Mod list:  List everything and the kitchen sink that's in your car.  Do it in a clean way.  Do not clutter it from left to right.  See example below:

Exterior Modifications:
Interior Modifications:
Engine Modifications:
Audio/Video Modifications:
Wheels/Tires:
Suspension/Brakes:
Other Mods:

*Advice: list all parts by manf name and model (It looks cleaner and shows you know what you really have) Also, list the future mods you are planning to add on.  It may be a good idea to do a rendition of how you target your car after the build is done.  This is not really necessary, but if you can do it just do it. 

3.  Features/Recognition Awards:  This is your time to shine.  List all of your vehicle highlights preferably in date order.  Car show awards and other types of props you have received as well.  The bigger the lime light the better.  Companies love this because it shows them that you are who you say you are and that you can deliver the goods.

4.  Contact & References:  List those that can cover your name.  If you know someone in the aftermarket industry, those people would be the one to list.  List their full name, what company they are from, and email and/or contact number.  Try not to over kill it.  A few is good.  Like 5 tops.  Anymore and you are just boasting.  Listing your current sponsors here would be good.


That's really how it is folks.  As a reminder your creativity and grammer skills will come into play.  Call it like writing a resume to apply for a job or a written interview.  If you have the skills to do this, then you have a good chance at obtaining a sponsorship for your vehicle.  I wish you all the best of luck and hope to hear some good news soon.  Should you have any question regarding this write up, please do not hesitate and contact us directly at alphasquadreview@gmail.com

Kirby

Back Then To Now: Team Alpha SQUAD

The first club feature we would like to present is our very own Team Alpha SQUAD.  The history of the club began with a group of friends from Fontana (South Ridge) during their high school days.  Soon after highschool the club became almost non existant due to getting on with their future endeavors.

Old photoshoot of the original Alpha SQUAD

In late 2005, I met a person by the name of Kris Parale.  Kris is one of the last existing members of the original Alpha SQUAD team.  During the time I met Kris at our old In N Out hangout in Ontario, CA I was already facinated with forming something under the Alpha SQUAD name should it be okay.  I spoke to Kris about it and he ran it by one of the other Alpha SQUAD members that were around.  We guaranteed that we will do something positive with the name, keep it going, and turn into something special.  And that we did.  At it's inception we did not make it a formal car club, but more of a click of friends from various Scion clubs that enjoyed the same passion. 

Original Scion Alpha SQUAD at Scion VIP Las Vegas, NV.
                                   

A few months pass since our Vegas sun burn and we had a huge discussion with our groups.  I suggested that why not merge all the clubs as Alpha SQUAD?  Long story short everyone agreed and get the ball rolling.  The first car show we hit as a team was Balliztik's fund raiser event for CHOC Hospital on 9/16/07.  Oh man did we hit that big.  I think from what I remember we had 35 Scions represent our club. 

Balliztik event pics by our friend Johnny "JDM" Fung (Way too many to post!)
http://www.scionlife.com/forums/showthread.php?t=114848&highlight=irvine+scion

Our first Team Rep Award as Alpha SQUAD as well (photo by JDM)

At the highest peek of Alpha SQUAD, we stood 45 members strong in So Cal and Ventura Co alone.  With the expansion of the club, we touch San Diego County, Northern Californa and invated the state of Arizona.  Like all car clubs, we all go through our ups and downs in members.  Some lost interest, some just wanted to move on, and some just didn't get along.  Things happen for a reason, but everyone that left the group have moved on.  Good to know that all of them are doing well with their lives.

Alpha SQUAD is still holding it strong in So Cal, Nor Cal, and AZ.  Alpha SQUAD's received countless team awards, features, and individual recognitions.  A few of our members have represented the club at SEMA and the CES Show in Las Vegas, NV.

Few headliner vehicles:

 Today Team Alpha SQUAD has moved on outside the Scion community.  Our team has expanded into an all around import tuner club.  We now have Acuras, Hondas, Mitsubishis, Mazdas, and other makes in the club. 

Alpha SQUAD would like to thank all of our sponsors: XXR Wheels, Top Line Industrial, NOS Energy, Weapon-R, No Limitz Built, Scion of San Bernardino, 12vspotlight.com, Voodoo, Zenesis Alarms, So Cal Scion, and Whatisflossy.  Thank you guys for all your support and anything you guys need we'll be there with no hesitation. 

Should you be interested in inquiring on how to join Team Alpha SQUAD or just visit one of our many meets in Nor Cal, AZ, or So Cal, do not hesitate to visit our team website: http://alphasquadforum.ephpbb.com/ or join us on facebook at:  http://www.facebook.com/media/albums/?id=592127634#!/pages/Team-Alpha-Squad/148343608514093 


If your team and/or crew is interested in a club feature, please send us an email at alphasquadreview@gmail.com We'd love to check you guys out and see what your club is all about.

Kirby




Check out these other pics submitted by various Alpha SQUAD members.  Enjoy!

(photo of xA by Jason Kissling)

Photo below by Leo Bor:

Photo by Speed Hunters:

Photos by Canibeat:

Performance Auto Sound Car Club Feature